Cai Liqun, a woman from Jiangxi Province, China, graduated from Shanghai Jiaotong University at the age of 25. This woman became an office worker in a foreign company. At that time, very few people spoke English, Cai Liqun advantageously earned a salary of 800,000 yuan / year after being promoted to senior management, and soon bought a villa in Shanghai.
In 2008, Thai Lap Quan resigned and started his own company, producing auto parts with a profit of 5-6 million yuan/year. Her first 40 years are calm and successful. No one expected that this woman would retire peacefully, suddenly “love pigs” and start a new career at the age of 44.
Portrait of Thai Lap Quan. Photo: Toutiao
The story begins with the time when Thai Lap Quan took his parents to his hometown in Le An County, Jiangxi Province, to play in 2010. Coincidentally, her father caught a very famous pig on the side of the road. It is the Le An flower pig breed, everyone thinks that this breed is on the verge of extinction. Villagers said that this type of pig is still around, but now numbers are very rare.
Li’an flower pigs are only found in Jiangxi province, also known as “panda pigs” because of their appearance. Braised Le An pork is very popular with the locals for its tender meat and distinctive delicious taste. Thai Lap Quan’s first thought at that time was “this pig is so tasty it can’t die out”.
Thai Lap Quan bought some flower pork and brought it back to Shanghai, and his friends all praised it. Someone even suggested that she raise pigs. This woman saw a business opportunity and immediately returned to her hometown to pick up Le An pigs scattered around the village.
Le An flower pig breed is also known as “panda pig”. Photo: Toutiao
Thai Lap Quan decided to start raising cattle and faced fierce opposition from his family. She herself has always been obsessed with cleanliness, while raising pigs, no matter how strict the hygiene requirements, cannot avoid the smell. However, Thai Lap Quan still believes this is the path she should take.
The master of pig breeding is on the verge of extinction
Since the pig farm is located in a place with difficult roads, Thai Lap Quan could only walk with his partner and bring pigs back, leaving no pigs behind. In a few months, she bought more than 300 pigs for more than 1 million yuan.
She hired experts to test the blood of these pigs and identify relatively purebred pigs for breeding. When Thai Lap Quan built a pig farm, many problems arose.
Le An flower pig is very active, with the height of a normal pig house it is impossible to keep these pigs obedient in the cage. She can only raise the gate and open the playground for pigs. Thai Lap Quan supervises the growth of the pigs by feeding and washing them every day.
In 2012, her pig farm grew, attracted local attention and was commissioned by the largest hotel in the district. Thai Lap Quan took the opportunity and raised the price by 50 yuan/kg. But this price has hindered sales, she has only 2 ways: sell at a lower price, or keep investing to find new markets. With the courage of an old businessman, she decided to take the next option.
The fertility of Le An flower pig is higher than that of ordinary pig. By 2014, Thai Lap Quan had bred more than 500 animals. The sudden increase in the number of pigs prompted her to invest more money and quickly shape the output for the pig herd.
Trading in meat, which is relatively new to the market, this woman focuses on two factors: creating excellent quality products and proving that quality.
Le An Flower pork has a red-pink color, a characteristic taste, but the disadvantage is that the fat layer is thicker, limiting this disadvantage to compete with pigs reared in other places. Thai Lap Quan reduced the amount of high-calorie feed for pigs, increased grazing and regular exercise in the mountains, which reduced the fat content of pigs by a third.
After Cai Lap Quan felt confident in the product he had created, he went to a department store in Shanghai. She is not afraid to cook Le An pork liver on the spot for customers to prove the quality of the meat. Pork liver is an organ that can directly reflect the quality of meat. As soon as there is a problem with the quality of the meat, the liver starts to smell strange.
Le An flower pigs need to rear for 1-1.5 years before being released, while common pigs only need about half a year. In addition, Thai Lap Quan feeds pigs with mountain spring water, corn and roughage, so that the pork has a fresh taste and customers praise it at the first try. With good news from afar, Li’an Flower Pork successfully penetrated high-end supermarkets and specialty stores in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou.
Thai Lap Quan uses prices per department, but focuses mainly on high-end customers. The cheapest front and rear meat is sold for 98 yuan/kg (more than 300,000 VND). The market price of other parts of Le An flower pig can reach 240-396 yuan / kg (about 800-1.3 million dong).
During the festival season, Thai Lap Quan’s business is more favorable. The phone rings every day. “Although Le An pork is relatively expensive, consumers are still willing to spend money to buy it because of its high quality and nutritional value,” said Thai Lap Quan.
In 2017, Thai Lap Quan bred 1,000 pigs, sales in Shanghai reached 5 million yuan/year. The total market turnover of this woman outside of Jiangxi province is up to 8 million yuan per year (~27 billion dong).
Source: CafeF